Loading, please wait...
LOT 0856
Byzantine Terracotta Oil Lamp
7TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/2 in. (65 grams, 90 mm).
Carinated with a domed upper face, circular filling hole and spout, remains of handle, raised linear motifs. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s onwards.
Private collection of Michael O'Hara, Cambridgeshire, UK.
Ex private collection of Benjamin Hyde-Smith, Hertfordshire, UK.
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
Byzantine Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant Plate
10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
The frontal section of an enkolpion, with the representation of crucified Jesus among Saint Mary and Saint John; Christ dressed in a long tunic (colobium) decorated with parallel stripes (clavi) and patterned hatches, his head turned to the right; his wounds on the cross are marked by nails; the cross standing upon a small hill, identified by rare inscription 'Ο ΤΟΠΟС КРАΝΙΟΥ' (a place of a skull, Matthew 27:33), indicating Golgota; the titulum with inscription 'Ι(ΗСΟΥ)С X(ΡΙ СΤΟ)C' (Jesus Christ), and the sun (left) with the moon (right); the central inscription corresponds to the words of the Gospel of John 19:26: 'here is your son, (ΙΔΕ Ο Υ {ΙΟ} С {C}ΟΥ ) here is your Mother (ΙΔΟΥ Η ΜΗΤ{Η}Ρ CΟΥ)'. 56.5 grams, 86 mm
Formerly in a 1980s collection. Acquired on the UK art market. Previously the property of an Essex gentleman.
Usually the reliquary crosses or enkolpia, were composed of two separate halves, inside of which a relic of a saint was contained; this could have been a piece of cloth or a bone. This extraordinary piece is very rare due to containing part of the Gospel of John about the Crucifixion. -
Byzantine Gold Filigree Pendant
12th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Capsule-shaped with openwork filigree ornament to the equator, a single granule to each terminal and a coiled wire suspension loop to apex. 0.82 grams, 15 mm
From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s. -
Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Bronze Cross Group
7th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Comprising: a cross buckle with pin; the upper plate of a small enkolpion with a praying Virgin or Saint; two orthodox pectoral crosses, both with inscription 'IC' (Iesus) 'XC' (Christos ) 'NIKA' (Christ is victorious); the smallest cross with invocation-prayer engraved on the back. 51.8 grams total, 36-73 mm
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.
The fragment of the simpler Maltese cross mount corresponds to the type E2 of Schulze-Dörrlamm, here with straight arms with rounded corners. It resembles the cross-shaped hinge fittings of the belt buckles from Herrera de Pisuerga and tomb 9 from El Tesorillo from Visigoth Spain, two bronze fittings from Lusitania and the buckle with busts of saints and the Greek inscription 'Light and Life' from Korbous in Tunisia. These kind of buckles were also found in male warrior graves.
